A baler is a piece of farm equipment used to compress cut cropped material, such as hay, straw, cotton, etc., into compact bales for handling, transport, and storage. A variety of balers are commonly available for producing cylindrical or rectangular bales of various sizes bound with twine, strapping, netting, or wire.
Round balers are commonly used in industrialized countries. In the operation of a round baler, crop material is rolled up inside the baler into a roll of predetermined size, which is bound by twin or netting and then deposited from the rear of the baler onto the ground for further handling. Round bales require specific treatment for transport and handling because of their ability to roll. In the operation of a rectangular baler, crop material is gathered up inside the baler into a rectangle of predetermined size, which is bound by twine or netting and then deposited from the rear of the baler onto the ground for further handling.
Rectangular bales are easier to handle and transport compared to round bales because they inherently resist rolling and can be easily stacked for transport and storage, and group baled by a group baler. In the use of a group baler, which is often referred to as a bundler or a grouper, bales are packed into the group baler in a predetermined pattern. After a predetermined number of bales are packed into the group baler, the bales are bound together, such as by twine, netting, wire, plastic strapping, or steel strapping, into a group bale, which is then deposited onto the field. Although group balers are useful for creating groups of bound bales that are safe to transport and easy to store, loading a group baler is difficult and cumbersome, often requiring specialized equipment and manpower at substantial cost to the farmer.